Honey Sriracha Chicken Thighs

Yum! I like having a whole bottle of Nom Nom Paleo's sriracha made up in my fridge. It's my go to for a lot of meats or on my eggs. It's delicious. I had chicken thighs pulled out already and I guess I didn't notice but they were skinless so Nom Nom Paleo's crackling chicken wasn't happening. Instead I made this.

Chicken thighs  (6-8 pieces)
1 cup of paleo sriracha
1/2 cup honey
Sea salt
Coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350
Mix 1 cup of sriracha and 1/2 cup of honey
Heat coconut oil in cast iron skillet. Lightly sprinkle sea salt on both sides of chicken thighs.
Place chicken thighs in pan. After 2-3 minutes, flip to other side.
Prepare a cookie sheet with a cooking rack
When both sides of chicken have been fried, place chicken thigh on rack.
Bake for 30 minutes
Once thirty minutes is up, pull cookie sheet out of the oven. Add honey sriracha onto both sides of chicken.
Set oven to broil on low
Broil for 5-10 minutes

The weekend!

I have this app on my phone to make it easier to update this blog.. But I suck apparently so here's a recap.

Friday - Panera Bread is AMAZING. I knew this before I went paleo but their "power" menu gets two big thumbs up from me. I have two favorites which are pretty much the same thing just one has avocado and one doesn't. I like the chicken cobb with avocado - I get no gorgonzola, but I had red onions. I double the bacon and double the chicken. For dressing, I replace their dressing with lemon juice and olive oil. The other option is Mediterranean power chicken salad. Again, add red onion, double chicken and double bacon. Nix their dressing but get the lemon juice and olive oil. This is such a great paleo option. So filling. So delicious. One has avocado, one doesn't.

Saturday - big man and I went for our scheduled 8 mile run. We got our run in right before the snow started falling. Beautiful day, went a little further on a route we normally go so we got to see new things. Spent the rest of Saturday relaxing.



There's nothing I like better on a cold winter day than a crock pot filled with some soup or stew. I hadn't tried my hand at paleo soups or stews yet so I gave paleo beef stew a try.




2-3 lb Chuck roast
4-6 White sweet potatoes (or regular sweet potatoes)
1 can of fire roasted tomatoes
1 yellow onion
Chopped celery (1 cup+)
Chopped carrots (1 cup+)
Beef stock
I also add 1 cup of water

Not really much better instructions than to just throw in the crock pot and let cook on low for 6-8 hours!

Sunday we took a tour of a new gym... And we're obsessed! We are doing guest visits on three days this week then will more than likely sign up!

We are doing well with our running this month. For the month of February we have 72.8 miles in, with 4 days left in the month! This morning we did 7 miles together, it was rough (it was a treadmill run). I am glad it's done.

Tonight's dinner is a modified version of Nom Nom Paleo's cracklin chicken thighs with honey sriracha on top. Yum! Made honey sriracha chicken drumsticks last week... Delicious!!!!

Pretty excited to do my end of the month weigh in this week...

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My Spring is going to be busy.

I haven't had a Diet Coke in 17 days. That is seriously HUGE for me. I used to drink 5+ cans a day. I'm not kidding. When we transition to paleo I knew that'd be the hardest part for me. But honestly, I don't miss it. I drink 64+ ounces of water a day so that's definitely leaving me satisfied and feeling way better.

Big man and I like doing races together. 5K, 10K, 10 milers, half marathons - anything! We had already planned a couple but now we seem to keep adding to it. Here's our spring list (so far):

March 21 - Haddonfield Adrenaline 5K
March 28 - Phillies Charity 5K
April 4 - Philadelphia Hot Chocolate 15K
April 11 - AC April Fools 7K
April 12 - AC April Fools Half Marathon
May 3 - Broad Street Run
May 16 - Wildwood 5K
May 17 - Wildwood Half
June 14 - ODDyssey Half (possibly)

It's going to be a busy spring time, but we're both excited.

Magic Monday!

Everyday little man asks me "mommy, what day is it?" so I've started giving adjectives to the words. Today is Monday so we're calling it Magic Monday.

It was a great weekend! I'm a typical girl (in some ways), I love Valentine's Day. Don't get me wrong, my boyfriend shows me he loves me every day of the year but Valentine's Day is just nice to reflect on it.

To kick off our Valentine's Day weekend we went to Rodizio's Grill for dinner Friday night. It was nice, it's always nice being out with him. We found ourselves a bit frustrated by our limitations, but hey live and learn.

Saturday we knew was going to be cold, so we pushed our run back a little bit so we could get a potentially higher temperature. We didn't set an alarm, let our bodies rest and it was AWESOME. We headed out to Kelly Drive / Boathouse Row in Philadelphia for a planned 8 mile run. Now, normally we'll just circle the Schuykill River and that comes out to 8.5 miles but sometimes that gets boring. So we decided to mix things up. We ran down past the Art Museum, along the Schuykill River to South Street, turned back and ran into the city. Through Rittenhouse Square, across Broad Street, past Washington Square and Independence Hall, down Race Street, up the Parkway back to Kelly Drive. It was a fantastic run. I think it helps make it fly by to run with your love/best friend.

We headed home and were frozen to the bone. You don't really "notice" the cold during your run but afterwards - yikes! It was COLD.

I had some studying to do over the weekend but big man and I altered our original Valentine's Day plans so that we'd be staying home and I'd make a nice paleo friendly dinner. Well we cooked together and honestly it was better than I could've imaged.

NY Strips - prepared using Nom Nom Paleo's How to Make the Perfect Steak (http://nomnompaleo.com/post/101229550968/how-to-make-the-perfect-steak)

Pressure cooker potatoes - using Nom Nom Paleo's Pressure Cooker Crispy Potatoes recipe (http://nomnompaleo.com/post/33235606879/pressure-cooker-crispy-potatoes)

Garlic Lemon Shrimp - shrimp + grass fed butter + garlic + herbs in a frying pan til cooked, squeeze 1 whole lemon on at the end (I also like to put my lemons in the pan while the shrimp is cooking, it makes the juice come out easier)

Aaaaaaaaand for dessert - CHOCOLATE CAKE!

Make It Paleo has a recipe for a chocolate cake. I thought it might be a nice treat and boy was it. Absolutely delicious! http://www.primalpalate.com/paleo-recipe/dark-chocolate-cake/

For icing I couldn't use their recipe because I could not find macadamia oil for the life of me. So I googled and found this http://elanaspantry.com/paleo-chocolate-frosting/ - PERFECT! In fact, in the future I am saving this recipe to make chocolate covered strawberries. It'd be perfect for it.

Everything was perfect. A big hit with big man. Successful paleo Valentine's Day.

Sunday we wake up and it's our meal prep Sunday of course! Not too much to prep this week. I wanted to make Chick Fil A nuggets for dinner on Monday and every recipe I saw called for pickle juice. Pickle juice? REALLY? Well that means I had to buy pickles. But what was I going to use them for? I wasn't going to just "eat" pickles... I thought they were going to waste. Nope! Found an awesome recipe for FRIED PICKLES! I'm not a newbie to fried pickles. I've had them before different places, I remember specifically I've gotten them at Hooters. They're okay but I can take or leave them. I still gave them a try. WHOA. These came out so good, I told big man he may not have any for work because there was a possibility I was going to eat them all.

The recipe for these can be found here: http://www.taysteofpaleo.com/2014/03/25/paleo-fried-pickles/


So there's my food from the weekend. Pretty good weekend for me! :) I got the job at a runner store I am obsessed with, completed my application to the four year school I am applying to, ate well and spent time with my loves.

BUT something else super cool happened. I had been exchanging likes and comments with someone on Instagram. Then I looked at his Etsy store (and Big Cartel link) and found out he sells super awesome, super cute workout gear!!!! I HIGHLY recommend you go give him a like on Facebook or IG.

Instagram: PaleoFatKid
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Paleofatkid
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/paleofatkid
Other shop: http://paleofatkid.bigcartel.com

How could I forget?! Valentine's Day presents exchanged early!

Big man and I aren't the type to surprise each other. We usually pick our own presents and just send the links to the other one. Big man wanted to get fitted for new running shoes so of course that's what he got. I'm a bit more difficult, on the other hand. He asked what I wanted. Hmm. Sunglasses? Necklace? Nah not this year. Since returning to paleo I've noticed the importance of a good knife set! No knife set is complete without a great cutting board! So that's what I got and I am loving them!




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Hey there Friday...

It's Valentine's Day weekend! Being the big cornball I am I love Valentine's Day. I had plans for me and big man this weekend but the weather isn't cooperating - AT ALL. So plans changed and that's okay! It's more important that I got my special person by my side than where we are. I'll post about that on Sunday though. ;-)

Last weekend I placed an order at Steve's Paleo Goods. (Instagram @stevespaleogoods or look them up on Facebook) if you're paleo or considering going paleo I can't recommend them enough! Makes snacking so much easier. Time saver, game changer! PaleoKoko (macaroon) is amazing. I'm not a jerky fan but the buffalo chicken jerky is delicious. I packed it yesterday when I knew I was going to have a busy day (more on that in a bit)




So, you know what I love? When you don't have a "plan" for dinner and just throw some things together and it comes out DELICIOUS! That happened the other day. I had flank steaks pulled out for dinner. Little man had a dentist appointment (that became an all day event) and I was supposed to have a night class. My plan was to throw flank steaks in the crock pot but I didn't know with what. I look around the kitchen - I put 2 flank steaks, 1 tbs olive oil, peeled garlic, garlic herb seasonings, 2 tbs of balsamic vinegar and the juice from 1 lemon. OH MY. We made a side of steamed spinach with garlic. Absolutely delicious. This is for sure a "make again" dish. Yum.

Back to my happy news - last weekend I got my super awesome running shoes (they're great by the way - I am obsessed). The week before big man got his, he is also obsessed. So we have become big fans of Road Runner Sports in Cherry Hill, NJ. Well I am currently a student and my classes are scheduled in a way I have some free time during the week. Big man noticed that RRS was hiring. He said that I should apply, it'd be the perfect job for me. So I applied. Monday I got a phone call for a phone interview. Then Tuesday I had a group interview. That went well so yesterday I had my shadow interview. Hoping to hear something positive soon! :-)

I am sometimes shocked how many people don't know what paleo is or what it's about. Whenever I mention it or something about it I do get a lot of questions. Usually what is it? Or well what do you eat? Sometimes people say oh I could never do that. I used to think the same about myself, I LOVED pasta, bread, rice, pretzels, ice cream, the list goes on. After seeing what an awesome impact paleo has made in my life in such a short time I couldn't imagine going back to the way I ate previously.

In December of 2014 my weight was the highest it had been besides when I was pregnant with my son. In July of 2014 I hit a point where I took some time off from running. Unfortunately that went from time off from running to ignoring everything fitness related. It rolled into August, September, October. So by the holidays I was huge, feeling absolutely terrible about myself. I was wearing sweats and hoodies because that's all I was fitting in. I knew something had to change. By December I knew one of my New Years goals would be to make fitness part of my life again. I would lose weight, get back in the gym, drink more water, run 4x a week at least and kick diet coke to the curb (among other things). I bought a fitness tracker (I'll talk about that more later too), organized myself, tossed the junk and set some goals. For the first month I ate better, not paleo. I also got back into the gym in the mornings with big man. We were running 2-3 times a week. We started training for a half marathon we are running in April. Since we saw success and results we discussed going paleo in February. We are staying consistent on our morning gym sessions AND now running four times a week. Well on January 1, I was 176 lbs. As of today February 13, I am 159.4. I am not at my goal weight, still pretty far away, but I am closer than I was when I began and that's what's important.




One of the greatest tips I was given was to make my goals my phones lock screen. That way they're not something I can just toss aside. They're in my face everyday. Staring at me. Holding me accountable. I downloaded an app called Sticky to make my note. Here's what my phones lock screen looks like:



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Successful Sunday meal prep

Well it's Sunday. I'm ready for a break... It's been a busy weekend. Today in our house (as it is in many other homes) is meal prep day for the rest of the week. I got myself a pressure cooker so I could make up some delicious recipes I've been seeing all over paleo blogs.

We started with porkitos from Nom Nom Paleo. Delicious pieces of proscuitto baked for 8 minutes at 350. Perfect!

While we were baking those I put my brand new pressure cooker to good use. I made up some Mexican beef (recipe from Nom Nom Paleo).

Big man likes (paleo approved) potatoes as his side. I took my purple potatoes, washed em, tossed em in a little olive oil with red pepper flakes, chili powder and salt. Wrapped em in aluminum foil and placed em in the crock pot on low for 8 hours.

Finally we made some delicious paleo approved waffles! We had been searching for a great paleo approved recipe. And we found it! Here's the link: http://wellnessmama.com/1696/coconut-flour-protein-waffles/ super easy super yummy! Highly recommended.











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Ok let's play catch up.

Things have been busy the past few days.. I had a class / quiz on Wednesday, followed by a lab / quiz Thursday and an exam on Friday. Saturday morning we were scheduled in our half marathon training to run 6 miles. On the way home we had to stop at my favorite butcher (L. Halteman Family in Reading Terminal Market). I love that place but I've learned that with how hectic it is in RTM I need to have an organized list or I'll either over buy or forget something. After that we made one last stop at Animo Juice in Haddonfield for a juice breakfast for me (big man got a juice + egg bowl).

I had a hair appointment at 12:15. Very happy with it! Big change but that's not a bad thing.


After my hair appointment we did some running around. First stop was Road Runner Sports in Cherry Hill so I could get fitted for new running shoes. What can I say? I like bright sneakers!




Quick stops at Trader Joes and Whole Foods and we finally made it home by 6:30! But we were exhausted. Luckily yesterday I had a Kalua pig in my crock pot (recipe from NomNomPaleo). I swear we were all in bed by 7:30!

So recap of last week..

I made the paleo carne asada with a side of paleo tortillas on Wednesday night. The carne asada was a crock pot recipe, modified from a non-paleo blog I read (which I can't find now). Here's what I did.

Flank steak (3 lbs)
2-3 Garlic cloves (peeled)
1 red onion (diced)
2-3 jalapeños (sliced and seeds removed)

In a food processor combine jalapeños, onions and garlic cloves.
Chop in processor to your desired thickness or thinness. (I prefer mine pretty thin)
When done, rub a light layer of olive oil on your flank steak.
Scoop out mixture from food processor and coat steak (both sides)
Place in crock pot on low for 7-9 hours.
Note- some liquid will be in the crock pot after cooking, drain the liquid before shredding the steak.

Ways to serve - on paleo tortillas, on cauliflower rice, in a plate with pico or guac on top, with eggs, ANY WAY YOU WANT!

Thursday we made chicken legs using Steves Paleo Goods Wing Sauce. Pretty simple - cook chicken legs + add wing sauce.

Friday - New York Strip using Nom Nom Paleo's recipe for how to make the perfect steak. Seriously - she wasn't lying. PERFECT!!!


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Naps and the carb flu

I really enjoy the paleo lifestyle. In the past when I did it, I noticed I had so much energy, I felt lighter, I felt all around better. That being said when I fall off the wagon and need to reacclimate myself it kinda sucks (for lack of a better term). So Monday when I decided to get my butt in gear and begin this journey I knew the "carb flu" was around the corner.

Monday - I felt the carb flu set in but honestly it wasn't too bad. I stocked our cabinets with paleo friendly snacks and foods so when I felt "hangry" (hungry + angry) I had something to cut the edge. I felt a little run down in the early afternoon so I took a nap. All in all - not a bad day.

Tuesday - I felt a little worse than Monday but still manageable. Big man and I ran 5 miles that morning followed by a quick leg workout so that could've been part of it. Again early afternoon caught a nap and felt okay afterwards. Still not as bad as the carb flu I remember from my first time going paleo.

Yesterdays dinner was bacon wrapped meatloaf muffins and purple potato wedges on the side. Yum!! I really love purple potatoes, I'm not as big on sweet potatoes / yams. I know they're like a paleo staple but I am not a huge fan.

Tonight we're doing carne asada in the crock pot with guac and pico on the side and I just may make up some paleo tortillas.

For a while I was super skeptical of the importance of a food processor. I was like ehh I could live without it. Now that I have one I wonder how I lived without it. Today's carne asada recipe is super easy but the food processor made it even easier! :) I'll post pics and recipe later! 

Return to paleo

Happy February (a day late).

I had a successful January. My list of goals for the year included weight loss, run more, drink more later, drink less Diet Coke. In the month of January I did each of those things. 54.5 miles for the month, ran 3-4 times a week, stayed consistent in the gym, drank WAY more water (64 oz + a day) and lost 11 lbs.

After many discussions the man and I agreed we've felt the "best" when we went paleo, eating REAL food. So during January we decided that February 2 would be our return to paleo. This gave me time to clean the cabinets and fridge, make my list, get my essentials.

Here are the steps we took to return to the paleo way of life.

Cleaning out the cabinets was not too bad. We'd been eating better for all of January, so it was more about getting organized. I made one side of my cabinets all paleo friendly goods and the other was the non-paleo goods (I kept these around because we do have two non-paleo members of the household). I also cleaned out the fridge and freezer for organizational purposes.

Purchasing the essentials was definitely fun. I started Friday by heading to my local Barnes & Noble. Picked up four paleo cookbooks I'd been eyeing for some time. Nom Nom Paleo by Michelle Tam, The Paleo Kitchen by Juli Bauer and George Bryant, Well Fed: Paleo Recipes for People Who Love to Eat by Melissa Joulwan and Make It Paleo by Bill Staley and Hayley Mason. I already subscribe the Juli Bauer's blog (PaleOMG) and Michelle Tam's blog (NomNomPaleo). I also have NomNomPaleo's app on my iPad. These cookbooks (and NNP's app) are amazing, worth EVERY penny. Highly recommended for anyone going paleo or even considering it. After my class on Friday I took a ride to Reading Terminal Market to head to my favorite butcher to stock up on meats. I picked up some chicken legs, chicken thighs, flank steak, ground sirloin, ground turkey and ground sausage. I also stopped by The Tubby Olive for some balsamic vinegar and yummy olive oils (I love that place!!!) and Iovine Brother's for some purple potatoes (they're difficult for me to find anywhere else). I was off to a good start. On Saturday, I took a ride to Whole Foods with big man and little man. There we bought all the essentials we can't get other places (also got signed up for Whole Foods new pilot rewards program *score*). We picked up a couple things from Steve's Paleo Goods, seasonings, a pork shoulder (I forgot this at the butcher and was kicking myself), some stuff for little man and a whole bunch of nuts. We stopped on the way home at our local produce place - I love this place. I have no issue spending a lot on fruits / veggies as opposed to the chemical messes that exist in the boxed stuff. We also purchase our lunch meat here - only turkey and proscuitto this time. One final stop at Target for a food processor, tupperware and jars and it was time to go home.

So here comes my second favorite part of the process - prep day! I had a couple things I wanted to make up for big man's breakfasts, snack and lunches. I started with Nom Nom Paleo's Porkitos made for snacks. I set up our cookie cooling racks on the table so they could cool when finished. Once I finished making the pound of them, I stored them in a Tupperware container (note - they did not last long between little man, big man and myself). While I had those going, I made up big mans lunch - a lettuce wrap with bacon and turkey. I also made some three ingredient paleo pancakes for his breakfasts. Yum! I wanted to eat everything right there but I packed everything and enjoyed my Super Bowl Sunday. Oh since it was Super Bowl Sunday my parents were coming over to watch the game. I had my dad try a porkito. He was HOOKED. He said he was going to purchase some proscuitto and make his own to crumble on salads or eat as a snack!

I knew for Monday I was going to make up Nom Nom Paleo's (I told you, she is an essential in my paleo journey) Slow Cooker Kalua Pig for dinner. I like starting pork before I go to bed so I set it on low and wake up to a delicious smelling house. So I woke up this morning at 4:30 to the smell of bacon, garlic and pork! Yummy. When I returned from the gym, I drained the liquid, peeled the excess fat away and shredded the pork. So excited for our dinner. Little man asked for a plate of pork already and ended up gobbling up two plates!! DELICIOUS! Highly recommended.